This invention generally relates to an electric can opener and, more particularly, to an electric can opener having a removable jar grip and a removable hand held bottle and package opener tool.
Foodstuff comes in a variety of metallic and plastic containers and packages. In order to protect the foodstuff during shipping and to ensure that the food is fresh and has not been tampered with, the containers and packages are tightly closed and often difficult to open with bare hands alone. There has long been a myriad of tools and appliances known in the art for opening such containers and packages. Electric can openers are well known in the art for opening a metallic can. The can opener has a housing for protecting the electronics and for supporting the can opener on a surface such that the can is suspended and supported by the can opener during the process of cutting through the top. Jar grips, having a high friction coefficient, even when wet, are known in the art for assisting in the twisting of an otherwise slippery lid such as a metallic lid used on glass jars. Additionally, a variety of hand held bottle openers are used to assist in opening bottle caps and package openers, having a slot with a recessed blade are used to open clam shell packages.
Though the above tools enable a person to open an assortment of containers and packages, kitchens are often extremely cluttered with foodstuff items, cooking utensils and miscellaneous household items. The tools for opening containers and packages often become separated and are difficult to find. Even in the most organized kitchens, the electric appliances used on a daily basis, such as the electric can opener, are often left on the countertop, while the hand held opening tools are kept in a drawer containing other items. The hand held openers often become misplaced and are difficult to find defeating the time saving benefit of having such tools.
What is therefore needed, but not provided in the prior art, is an electric can opener that includes a removably mounted jar grip and a removably mounted hand held container and package opener. What is also desired, but not provided in the prior art, is a hand held container and package opener that combines a clam shell package opener, a pull tab opener, a pop-top bottle opener and a twist top bottle opener in a single hand held device.